Before receiving this DVD for review,
I had never heard of the film or the “mystery”
surrounding the Pink Floyd soundtrack.
Imagine the most introverted and intense episode of the original The Twilight Zone, one that filled you with
intrigue while you tried to figure out just where they could
 possibly be going with the story. Take that episode, then
set it in an accurate depiction of a Britain-like country
in the late 1960s. Now, imagine following along with the main
character, seeing multiple levels of meaning in each small
line of dialogue, interaction and setting,
becoming more and more engrossed in what was about to be revealed
... then, just when you think a payoff is coming, nothing.
Roll credits. That's what The Committee is.
An extremely opaque film that is admitted mental masturbation
for writer/producer Max Steuer (author of The Scientific
Study of Society). It's almost as if an economics professor,
one that you really like and who is very interesting to speak
with, wrote a story specifically for himself and a few of
his graduate students, a story revolving around his theories
of how bureaucracy works with and against individuality in
a slightly parallel society to 1960s Great Britain. A story
for which he didn't worry about whether or not anyone without
that very specific background would “get” any
of it.
Donnie Darko fanboys would love this.
To
go into its plot would be giving too much of the experience
away. Suffice it to say, the setting reveals itself through
small dialogue clues, not usually through direct exposition.
The point is there, but so wrapped in one man's way of thinking
that it's nearly impossible to decipher. Obtuse and masturbatory,
maybe, yet I enjoyed watching the film. The acting (starring
Paul Jones of Manfred Mann) was very good,
and the director, Peter Sykes (The Avengers TV Series, Venom, To The Devil A
Daughter), does an incredible job in the opening
scene to create a connection with the protagonist.
 The film has gained more notice since they were able to get
Pink Floyd (or as they say 'The Pink Floyd') to do the film
score, which had never been released before this disc. If
you've ever seen Beyond the Valley of the Dolls you have a good idea of the sound they accomplished. It's
very un-Floyd like, sounding more like Donovan
or Strawberry Alarm Clock. Very psychedelic, and only hinting
at the traditional layering of sounds that Pink Floyd is known
for. It works well in creating atmosphere, though it's not
something this fan would enjoy sitting and listening to on
its own merits. There is a very good write-up
of the soundtrack by David King for Brain-Damage magazine.
Watching the one film extra, The Making Of The Committee,
gave me a larger appreciation for the film, I just wish they
hadn't been so ambiguous in its actual presentation. A second
viewing made it a more enjoyable experience. The symbolism
in the closing sequence was more apparent, and very well filmed
and edited.
Video
Presented in its original
aspect ratio (of which my player said was 1.47:1) and in black
and white, the image is very clean and the contrasts clear;
the blacks are solid and I noticed no haloing or digital artifacts.
The image is a bit bright in spots, but I'm not sure if that
was the original intention or not.
 Audio
There is one option, English
mono. It's balanced well, with the dialogue very clear, and
music crisp.
Extras
There is only one extra on the first
disc. No chapter list (although the main film is broken into
five chapters), no commentaries, no subtitles.
The
Making Of The Committee, a 51-minute retrospective filmed
in 2003 with separate interviews of both writer/producer Max
Steuer and director Peter Sykes inter-cut with scenes from
the film, goes into great detail about what Steuer was trying
to say with the film. He makes no apologies for it being elusive,
except for one thing: When asked if he were to remake it today
what he would do different he said, "I would make it
less opaque." This is a very open and revealing set of
interviews that adds to the understanding of the film, but
I would have loved to have seen footage of the actual filming,
which may no longer exist.
The
second disc is a music CD of only three tracks, but sorry
Floyd fans, nothing from the Roger Waters 1968 era Pink Floyd
made it on. The tracks include: 1. The Committee – Paul
Jones, written by Paul Jones and Max Steuer and arranged by
Tim Whitehead of The Homemade Orchestra; 2.  Here
Comes the Flood - The Homemade Orchestra, written by Peter
Gabriel arranged by Riley from the Inside Covers;
3. Bird - Riley, Tim Whitehead, From The Tides.
Packaging
The cover was designed by Jon
Goslan. It's a basic two-disc case with no inserts, one
disc against the front, and one against the back.
Final Word
An engrossing film that is much better on the second viewing, The Committee does a great job of showing
what late 1960s fashion and attitudes were, and acts as a
good glimpse into the directing abilities of Peter Sykes,
much the same way that The Evil Dead was
for Sam Raimi. Not for everyone, but those that enjoy having
most of a film happen in your head may like The Committee.
Also, if you know who Arthur Brown is, he does perform Fire in one scene while wearing his traditional headdress.
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